>> jamie: we have our makeup touchup, are you red carpet ready. >> eric: we are home, grilling shrimps tonight. >> jamie: that's very nice, i might invite myself over. >> eric: you don't make it with heavy cream. >> jamie: thru go. eric cooks, too, unbelievable. thank you for being here. >> shannon: less than 24 hours

ever a fiery crash, drivers get ready to run nasoccur's biggest race. in about an hour, they will start their engines at the daytona 500. dozens were injured yesterday when a car went airborne and sent debris flying. but officials say they are ready for race day and ready to relocate any nervous fans. i'm shannon bream. we start in daytona. rick witnessed the crash and he has the latest on that and the day's race. you were close to the crash. what it was like? >> reporter: it was pretty scary for a lot of people, obviously. the crash happened on the track, right over there. it's hard to see the track now because all the fans are on it. but the fence was breached. an engine flew inside the bleachers and one of the wheels came off the car, it was like the kyle larson's number 32 car, airborne and 75 yards before the finish line. i was on the other side of the

track, watching on the big screen. sometimes you get a better view on the big screen. i saw the wreck about to happen and heard the explosion and saw all the debris fly up. 33 people were injured, ultimately from this, 14 taken to area hospitals. halifax medical center, the number-1 emergency medical center in volusia county. so they had good treatment. the latest from the speedway is that most people have been released with a couple in care in the hospital. they didn't give the exact numbers to that. but nobody has any life-threatening injury, which is great and miraculously, all the drivers got out without any injuries. i mean, just watching the radio is amazing, but being there and seeing this up close and personal, there are thousands of people in the stands. any impact, nervous fans? people worried about being there? >> reporter: yeah, one thing, daytona said anybody seated in the area, if they are nervous,

they will work to find them another seat. that's the good news. in general, the fans come here, this is daytona 5 hundred and they are ready. i want to show you, the reason why people love nascar and the races is take a look at that, that's the infield and that's the track. we're an hour away from the race that. crowd is about to play. people love nascar because they have this kind of close access to the drivers and to the sport itself. you have the grandstand right on the other side of the track. it's that intimacy that make this is a magical sport. i can tell you, the racers are ready for t. they say there won't be any impact from yesterday to today. they know once they near the car, instinct kicks in. there is a couple of interesting stories. there is a brand-new car they are racing that will be starting in the big race today. so it's the new gen-6 and have

you a woman in pole position, danica patrick, leading the race to start for the first time, a woman with a shot at win winning this event. >> jamie: a lot of exciting things. i fell enough -- i fell in love with nascar. have you to do it at least once. thanks for being there on the biggest day, at the kickoff of the daytona 500 in about an hour. just hours ago, pope benedict bestowed his final sunday blessing overlooking st. peter's square. he told a crowd estimated at 100,000 people that he will take up a life of private prayer and will continue to serve the church. wednesday will be his last public audience and thursday is his final day as pope. the nation's governor in town for talks this weekend, the deadline and how much it may cost their states is driving the

discussion. a democrat, head of the national governors association said he's worried the automatic cuts would send states into recession. >> we are very concerned, particularly the effect on the economy. i think a lot of us feel like after some very difficult years, things are getting a little bit better. unfortunately, this could put us right back where we were. >> my advice to the president, stop the campaigning, stop getting the campaign secretaries to scare your people. do the hard work of governing. >> shannon: senator john mccain's calling on the president to call a summit. and senator lindsay graham is calling on the president to take a pay cut for every day that they can't get together and find a solution. the sequester will have different effects on every state, military bases and national parks and the possibility that mauler airports could be forcinged to shut down

altogether for a period of time. former republican governor from mississippi knows about cutting back. he joins us now. thank you for coming in. >> thank you. we are talking about federal budgets, but a lot of federal money flows into each state. >> it does. this sequester will affect the defense budget and the nondiscretionary budget, it won't affect the 60% of the federal government and its entitlements. so you are talking about support for education and head start and that sort of stuff. but let's be realistic about this. the idea that it's going to hurt the economy, this is about 3/10 of 1% of gdp. we are talking about cutting spending by 2.4%. this is not some draconian cut. when i was governor, i had to cut spending one year, 9.4%. but we managed it and we manage it right. hardly anybody noticed a difference. that's what scares me. it looks like all the incentive

for obama, after they are saying the world's going to come to an end and running around with their hair on fire, they better make this as bad as they can make tinstead of managing it for the least effect, when have you a 21% increase in the payroll for civilians at the defense department, why do you talk about cutting back aircraft carriers? there is a real fear in my mind that the administration's political agenda is, try to make this look as bad as it can, where everybody else has ever been faced with this, try to do the least impact possible because it is not a big number. sequester's a bad system. that's not the right way to do it. but look, it was obama's idea -- >> shannon: which he says it wasn't. but jack lew, the idea allegedly bubbled through him. but the president will say that congress came up with tthey have to solve it.

>> the fact of the matter is -- i don't want to say the truth, it was the white house's idea. the other important fact is in the last year, republicans in the house have twice passed legislation to do away with the sequester and replace it with more orderly cuts. democrats haven't given it the time of day. why do you wait until there is a week to go to all of a sudden start telling people the world's going to come to an end, if the world's going to come to an end, the senate didn't like the house bills -- do different bills -- why didn't they pass a bill? why didn't the president encourage everybody? if there is going to be a sequestration summit, why wasn't if months ago? the president has to lead. that's what we pay him for. and right now, this is -- anything but leadership. but i don't think the effects are going to be very bad, unless it's contrived by the

administration by saying to the bureaucrats, you know, the worst this is, the less likesly it will be furloughed. >> shannon: let's talk about the furlough, regardless, already notices are going out to people that are real people with real mortgages and kids and payments that they may be furloughed. that's a reality. >> well, sure they may be furloughed, if this is managed terribly. when we cut spending in my state, 9 pptd 4%, hardly anybody lost any time at work. hardly anybody was terminated because weeing managed it right- >> shannon: but is there flexibility here? the administration will say, these are -- this is what everybody agreed, to the across-the-board cuts and so maybe there isn't the flexibility to manage it? >> across the board within accounts. many accounts have $500 million. my friend lay la hood, the secretary of transportation is on tv today. his operation and maintenance

account is over $500 million a year. i mean, there are a ton of savings there. we have fewer airplanes flying commercially today than in 2001. and they're talking about they don't have enough... they are going to have to lay off controllers. well, they have increased their budget monumentally in this administration. so cutting back about 5% for his o&m account. people do this in business every day. i did it as governor, we didn't resort to layoffs. we made sound business decisions. but my incentive as governor was to do it right, manage it right, cause the least disruption. i worry that the obama administration's incentive is cause the most destruction and then try to blame it on the republicans. >> shannon: we are to go. "yes" or "no," do you think sequester happens or they reach a deal? >> i think sequester happens. i don't think the president wants a deal. if he did, he would have done it

a long time ago. >> >> reporter: >> shannon: thank you. the state department is joining in a search for a missing couple, missing in peru. they were on a cycling trek in south america and chronicling it on facebook. but those postings have stopped. >> reporter: the couple set out on a biking trip throughout south america that kicked naff november. and as of late january, they haven't been heard from. they were last seen in peru, 27-year-old jamie dismeel 25-year-old garret hand had been keeping in regular contact with family members through facebook, posting pictures of their travels and pictures that show the many friends they made along the way on their advantage. on january 25, the couple purchased bus tickets from the historic town of cusco to leim a. but then everything went dark. the facebook posts stopped and

emailed ended and a search has been launched, hoping the couple is in an area too row mote for contact. a facebook page created to help find them reports... >> anything could have happened since then. i hope she is just having a blast and they are doing what they went to do, you know? but... had i not called you guys or anything and just waited... i mean, there is always that what if? >> reporter: meanwhile, the u.s. embassy in peru has issued a warning, posted on the agency's web site. the embassy has received information that members of a criminal organization may be planning to kidnap u.s. citizen tourists in cusco and machuu

picchu areas. peruvian and lima authorities are keeping family members up to date. if have you any information, you are asked to call the american citizens services at lima. >> molly, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> shannon: can a conviction based on the work of a drug-sniffing dog, with questions about his soiiveg and training be legitimate? a u.s. supreme court said yes, giving the state of florida a big win. joiningitous talk about that case and much more, pam bondi. >> i am so happy toe to be here with you. >> shannon: before we get to that, i have to ask you about the decision by governor rick scott to extend medicaid under the president's health care law, something i recall watching and you other fight in the supreme court just months ago? >> clearly, we fought hard on this case. of course, i disagree with the

decision. i firmly disagree with t. however, it has to go before the speaker and our senate president. o i am hoping that they will also agree. this could devastate our state and cost a tremendous amount of money. >> shannon: the florida legislature has to get involved in the process. let's talk about an opinion do you agree with, a big one for the state of florida this week. aldo, the drug-sniffing german shepherd. he alerted and the man was convicted of production of meth. but he argue that the dog's certification and training was not up to snuff. >> the drug dogs, as we know, are excellent. and aldo had hundreds and hundreds of hours of training and expertise in what he did. not only is this a florida case, it started in florida, but justice cagan wrote a unanimous

opinion, this affects homeland security. this affects all drug dogs across the country. they are so vital to criminal investigations, as you know. and aldo hit on this car and sure enough, there was meth -- it was -- the guy the had a tremendous amount of meth. so so it would have had a really horrible effect on a great, great law enforcement tool, not only for us, but the federal authorities and the homeland security. >> shannon: my one disappointment was that aldo was not in court. but his work has been vindicated now. >> very proud. >> shannon: something else that you are very passionate about and working very hard on, the issue of human trafficking. you have been pushing for legislation on this in florida. >> yes. human trafficking is so ugly. people don't want to believe that it really exists in our country. it's a $32 billion business.

florida -- we are ranked number 3 in the calls to our hotline on human trafficking cases. it is all over our country. but in south florida especially. a lot of young women from other countryings and it's a lot of runaways, who have been bumped from foster home to foster home. we fought very hard last session and we got great, tough legislation that matches the federal legislation and the state proscures have the authority to obtain wire taps on these cases and we are going after the massage parlors. that's where a lot of this is hamming. now massage parlors are forced to have people show i.d. we have had great strides. but it's a horrible, horrible business and we are doing everything we to make florida and the country zero tolerance. >> shannon: quickly, i know a lot of discussion is about

treating the victims differently. they may be engagedin criminal activity, but they are victims. >> that's something we have worked on very hard, as well as creating safe houses. a lot of these young women, you can bring them in -- they have to be protected. you want them protected by -- but a lot of them are living on the streets. once you bring them in, where are they going to go? we are woking on creating safe houses for them, let them know that they truly are victims and some of these girls are 13, 14 years old. so it's a horrible, horrible epidemnick our country. >> shannon: we know you are very busy with all of these things. it's always good to see a friend from my home state. >> thank you! great to see you. >> shannon: thank you. >> much more, including a fair and balanced debate on the management's push to provide some domestic partners, but not others, with special military benefits.

why some are crying foul. and ready for celebrity sightings on the red carpet. we will see what is going on out there. >> reporter: the california sun is shining and the stars are going to be out shining for the 85th academy awards. we will be giving a preview on who the nominees are and who may be getting to go home with gold on the other side of the break. ♪ [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. sowhy let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision.

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>> shannon: right now, hollywood stars are gearing up for the biggest night in show biz. it's oscar night. tens of millions as the academy hans out its higher honors. we will have all the predictions. but first, joining us live is dominic with a preview of the action tonight. looking very spiffy, dominic? >> reporter: hey, shannon. absolutely. the celebrities are going to be turning up in four hours' time. the tensions are rising because of all the talk about the best picture. lincoln was out in front, followed by zero dark 30, the

story of the osama bin laden raid. but if the past three weeks, argo appears to be the front runner, the hostage situation in tehran, directed by ben affleck. argo might be the best film, despite the elab elaborate production and lincoln taking $180 million. listen to what one of the pundits had to say. >> two months ago, everyone would have told that you lincoln is going to get best picture, happeneds down. but the last couple of months, it has become argo's award to win. everyone thinks they are the front runner that argo is going to win and it is going to be a major upset at this point, if argo doesn't win. >> reporter: it would be a major upset. especially for ben affleck, the director, he has been snubbed

already for the award for best director, anyway. so we will see how that plays out. the oscars are always unpredictable. it adds to the excitement. who else will win today? who will get to go home with gold? actor in a leading role, 99% going to daniel day lewis in lincoln. it is not entirely sure who will get the actress in a leading role. it's down to jennifer lawrence and also jessica chastain, in zero dark 30y. looks like it's going to be anne hathaway in a supporting role for her performance in le miserable. we will know at 6:00 p.m. eastern time. >> i know the stars are primped and they spend a lot of time and money, wearing the gorgeous

gowns and tuxedos. what will be the weather as they walk the carpet? >> absolutely florious. it's lovely and warm here at the moment. it must be about 78 degrees. it feels that warm. the sun's bright. it is very intense. even the lights here, kifeel the heat building up already on top of that, that you would create with being in the spotlight. as they walk down the red carpet, which is 70 yards long, by the time they get to the end, they will be feeling the heat. but it's a wonderful day and they are going to look absolutely fabulous in the glorious california sunshine. >> thank you very much. and it's not just the actors and the directors who are nervous, so are many of the pundits, the ones who put their reputations on the line, making the predictions about who they believe will take home the gold statues. count our own oscar expert in that camp. we have a fox news oscar exclusive.

great to see you today. tell us what you think? >> reporter: yes, shannon. great to see you. happy oscar sunday. we'll make history right now. shannon, you know how on election night, we project winners before the votes have been counted. if we project a winner for a senator, governor, the president, why can't we project the oscar winners? based on my exclusive formula, which i have been purchasing for 35 years and my own point to the oscar voters, i can guarantee i will be right. are you ready, shannon? >> shannon: absolutely! not many things are guaranteed! >> reporter: no gut, no glory. okay, best picture of the year, argo is going to take it. no question. hollywood loves the film. it's been like a steam roll from the golden globes and the critics choice, british academy award. it's unstoppable. it is going to win. for best director of the year, i am going to project life of pi.

people say the film accounted not be turned into a film. it was an amazing, amazing visual experience and people think that steven spielberg might win for lincoln, but no. life of pi. best actor, daniel day lewis in lincoln. this is a no brainer. one of the greatest actors of all time, as ark braham lincoln. he has won every pre-oscar prize there is. this will be his third win. he can't lose. i guarantee you. best actress, okay, this is going to be the night's biggest upset. i am predicting, amanuel reeva in amore. i know few people have heard of the actress or seen the film, it's the otion car nominee for best austrian foreign film. she plays an elderly woman, it is high difficulty. she is astonishing. she has won several of the big

critics awards. viheard from the oscar voters, this is the performance they love the most. i know that most pundits are saying jennifer lawrence and she was great. but it is not oscar caliber. but best supporting actor, robert deniro and anne hathaway in le miserable. i guarantee they will be correct. >> shannon: wow. have you a record to run on here. how well did you do last year? >> last year, i went 9 for 9. i guaranteed meryl streep for the iron lady. and i was correct. in fact, i was the top scoring pundit. they track oscar experts from all over the country, major publications, i tied for first out of 31. this year, i plan to do the same. >> shannon: we are proud to call youeur own. enjoy the show. still to come on america's news headquarters, leon panetta orders benefits for same-sex

benefits for gay partners, but what about heterosexual couples? and oscar pistorius is free on bail. but the legal woes do not end there. another relative caught up in another fatal criminal case, a live report from south africa, coming up. [ coughs ] [ angry gibberish ] i took something for my sinus, but i still have this cough. [ male announcer ] a lot of sinus products don't treat cough. they don't? [ male announcer ] nope, but alka seltzer plus severe sinus does it treats your worst sinus symptoms, plus that annoying cough. [ breathes deeply ] ♪ oh, what a relief it is! [ angry gibberish ] i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

>> today's daytona 500 will go on as planned after a fiery crash injured more than 30 nascar fans yesterday. peter doocy has some of your top stories. >> reporter: nascar officials held a news conference. they say most of the victims have now been release from the hospital. that accident happened during the final lap of yesterday's nationwide race when a car crash into the fence. you can see the daytona 500 on

your local fox stations. police in las vegas have identified a suspect in last week's shooting that resulted in the death of three people. investigators are now looking for 26-year-old amar harris. they believe harris shot and killed an aspiring rapper driving in another car that triggered the crash that killed two others. the family of an american pastor jailed in a notorious iranian prison says it has received a letter from him. that letter, the pastor describes physical and psychological abuse. next hour, shannon talks to the pastor's wife. if you have one of those big 3- or 5-gallon bottles of spring waters, the new hampshire department of health is warning people to make sure the bottles don't smell like gasoline. some were used to haul gas during superior superstorm sandy and recycled. they are trying to weed them out. those are the top stories right

now. back to you. >> shannon: thank you. at the direction of the defense secretary leon panetta, pentagon personnel are working to extend certain benefits to same-sex domestic partners, but is the attempt to make the military more inclusive to one group making it discrimnator tow another. the defense secretary has ordered the defense department to extend benefits to same-sex domestic partners, haymust formally declare their commitment to each other and attest that they are of the same sex, meaning these benefits will know be given to heterosexual couples who are unmarried and otherwise meet the definition of domestic partners. >> i think this does qualify as discrimination of opposite sex couple who is are unmarried and living together. >> shannon: in the 2010 report

in the don't ask/don't tell, the pentagon warned of this, saying, quote, if the department of defense creates a newing categoy of unmarried, dependent only for same-sex relationship, the department would be creating a new inequity, between couples. >> this administration is using the military for social engineering. i think it's significant they they are going beyond what they said they would do at the time that don't ask/don't tell was repeal. >> shannon: yet supporters of the directive say it's the only equitable thing to do, given that same-sex couples have limited opingings when it comes to marriage. >> as long as it isn't an option for loving, committed couples to actually get married, the department of defense is doing

something that makes sense to try to give those gay members of the military and their families the same benefits as other members of the military. >> shannon: joining us now is an attorney and former chief minority counsel to the chief judiciary committee. >> good afternoon. >> shannon: let me ask you about this, david, the pentagon says, gay couples can only get married in a handful of states, heterosexual calm couples can get married everywhere. we want benefits to be available to everybody, why not? >> number 1, there are nine states where gay couples can be married. under the full faith and credit, the government would have to acknowledge those marriages. number 2, there may be numerous reasons for straight couples not to get married -- marriage penalty, takeses make it very, very difficult. the equal protection clause in

the fifth and 14th amendment demand that both sexes be treated the samei. they are not doing that. this is the same administration that is fighting the defense of marriage act, saying it discriminates against gay couples and gay couples are denied equal protection. you can't have it both ways. it has to be for both -- what is good for the goose is good forward gander. >> shannon: is that what is happening? in an effort to be inclusive, tells unmarried heterosexual couples, you don't have these benefits? >> i don't think youville many opposite sex couples. gays are not given an advantage here. they are being -- they are being discriminated against. and this policy attempts to make up for that discrimination. contrary to what david said, doma is to say that the federal government and other states do not have to recognize gay marriage in the few states that allow it. doma prohibits the federal government from recognizing gay

marriage and therefore spousal benefits and the new state where is gays can marry. and as you pointed out, shannon, most states don't have a statute that allows for gay marriages. so if you want to extend this policy and say the policy should extend to straight couples who are in domestic, long-term committed partnerships, that's fib. i don't think you will find many. as for the equal protection, equal protection in this case, i think any court would say, there is a rational basis for the department of defense extending the benefits to gay couples because gay couples don't have the options of marrying the way straight couples would do. i don't think this would have too much difficulty in the courts. >> shannon: david, i want to read something for a specific comment for this story. it says all heterosexual service members have the opportunity to marry in every state of the country. disbai lesbian service members

do not. extension of these benefit, not restricted by the defense of marriage act is fair and legal, especially given the stresses on the family this is 12th year of war. your response. >> nine states do permit gay couples to get married and this number is growing. you can't say -- they can get married -- i said financially, is the primary reason. i know a couple together 10 years, are not getting married because they can't afford it because of tax issues. so you are going to say, we are going to force heterosexual couples to get married to get the same benefit that gay couples can get, even though they could get married -- >> david -- >> it doesn't make any sense. >> can i point out a basic fac that you are missing? there are two things. in most states, gay couples cannot get married. even in states where they can get married, the federal government prohibits the department of defense from recognizing that marriage and therefore providing spousal

benefits. now, if you say you want everybody treated equally, i am with you. we ought to simply say that doma ought to be repealed, the federal government ought to be able to recognize gay marriages and the standard ought to be equal as applied to all couples. i am with you on that. >> shannon: we will let the supreme court decide this. but thank you for lending us your legal expertise. >> you bet. >> shannon: the supreme court tackles another one of its biggest cases this year, this week, the landmark voting rights act. a good idea, but one whose time has passed. [ loud party sounds ] hi, i'm ensure clear... clear, huh? i'm not juice or fancy water. i've gotine grams of protein. that's three times more than me! [ female announcer ] ensure clear. nine grams protein. zero fat.

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>> shannon: this week, the

supreme court will take up a challenge to the voting right act and it could have a massive impact on u.s. elections. at the heart is section 5, which requires certain town, counties and states to get pre-clearance from a court before making changes to voting procedures in districts. here to break it down is the former assistant district attorney. >> great to see you, shannon. >> shannon: elizabeth, what is at stake snitch the voting rights act is one of the most iconic laws that has passed in the past century. it guarantees -- it makes a reality, the 15th amendment guarantee of the right to vote free from racial discrimination. the 15th amendment, people know, even more after watching "lincoln," the movie. the right to vote free from discrimination wasn't made a reality for most minorities, african-americans, particularly in the south, until the voting rights act of 1965 was passed.

just as important as it was then, it continues to be the best defense against voting discrimination that we have today. >> shannon: tom, the authorities out of alabama say, a lot has changed since 1965 when this was passed. the political realities of today are that section 5 shouldn't be a burden on those of us who have gotten our act together, essentially. >> that's right. the united states today is very different from the 1960s and the same holds true of albammasm what is at issue is know the voting rights act as a hold. the at that timeute has play aid key role. but one particular aspect is before the supreme court, the pre-clearance requirement, which requires state like alabama and other states to go to the federal government and say, we would like to make a change in our voting laws. they have to get approval from the federal government before they can do that. >> shannon: we have seen this play out a lot in the last couple of years with voter i.d.

and redistricting. texas had a major overhaul that involved the voting rights act. a couple of years ago, 2009, there was another case that didn't specifically get to whether or not sex 5 would be good. but there were hints fromchief e time to revisit that. what are you going to be looking at, elizabeth? who do you think are the key players here? >> obviously, you look at justice anthony kennedy who, has been the swing vote. i think it's important to note that while things have changed and there has been progress, you know, for those states who can show, we're tollingy different, we have reformed our ways, they can bail out, under provisions of voting rights act and get out from under the burden. but in shelby county, alabama, who in bringing the case, can't take advantage of that because they can't show they have been free of discriminatory voting practices in 10 years. and in shelby and many other jurisdictions, the voting rights

act remains incredibly important and the best way for most important voters -- all american voters to be sure that their vote will count equally at ballot. >> shannon: congress has to renew provisions of the voting rights act and they did that in 2006 with strong bipartisan report. so coming has a role. this has the potential that would expire without congress and the courts getting involved. shelby county argues that it's expensive expensive and time consuming to get the pre-clearance objectives met. but congress has passed this again, tom, so where do we go with that? >> congress has passed it. but the ultimate voters are the justices of the supreme court. they are going to decide whether or not this is constitutional. as you ah lewded to a minute ago, the supreme court a few years ago ago and all nine justices said that this may have gone too far. when you have a hotly contested constitutional issue that unites the justices -- that's diagonal

telling you something. >> shannon: all right. this case will be argued on wednesday. we will stand by with the decision by june. >> thank you. >> in the housing market, it is difficult to tell whether you should be buying, selling or trying to refinance. so we are bringing in a real estate expert. tweet us your real estate questions. we will try to get as many of these answered as we can for you, later on in in show. also coming up, famed olympic athlete, oscar pistorius is facing murder charges in his girlfriend's death. and his brother carl is also involved in a fatal criminal case, facing charges. we will go live to south africa for the latest. look what mommy is having. mommy's having a french fry. yes she is, yes she is. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8.

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>> shannon: oscar pistorius made bail friday after being charged with murdering his model girlfriend reeva steenkamp on valentine's day. now, word that his brother karl is facing homicide charges in a separate case. greg palkot joins us live from south africa. greg? >> another twist in this case, shannon. a lawyer for the pistorius family confirming to me that the brother of oscar pistorius

karl is now charged with what is called the culpable homicide. u.s. equivalent, involuntary manslaughter. a lawyer told me she ran into him. bizarrely, karl pistorius first trial date was set to be last thursday, one of the days his brother was in court for allegedly killing his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. the probe is in high gear. forensic ballistic evidence being looked at and cell phone records scrutinized. this as we were told oscar pistorius remains at his uncle's luxurious home. his uncle came out today and said it is living hell for oscar. we heard from the father of the family reeva steenkamp stayed with when she was here in the area. in an interview in the local newspaper he said she got an is

sms message the night she was killed that said high, guys i'm too tired to drive, see you guys tomorrow. message from him to oscar pistorius and i quotion he can rot in hell ." >> shannon: a brand new letter from an american pastor jailed in iran. we will talk to his wife about the pastor's life in prison. plus, they served our country but now many veterans are saying that they can't get the help they need. we will take a into you look at an in depth investigation into the department of veteran's affairs. [ male announcer ] research suggests cell health plays a key role throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multivitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age.

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>> shannon: it is race day in day tow that. less than 24 hours after a jaw dropping crash is sent debris

he flying into the stands, injuring dozens of fans. nascar are's biggest race goes on. we will have the very latest. five days and counting with no deal in site on sequestration, government agencies get ready to slash their budgets. what gets the axe? especially in vital areas like homeland security? we will talk to congressman peter king about that. and letter from iran. an american pastor jailed for his christian faith manages to communicate with the outside world for the first time since his imprisonment. a frightening picture of prison life, daily abuse and death threats. we will talk to his wife. more than a million veterans not getting the pensions and benefits they earned. an investigative report coming your are way. i'm shannon bream. hour number two of america's news headquarters live from the nation's capital starts right now. five days and counting until sequestration and a bill comes due. governors from both parties

warning of disasterrous check impact if the white house and congress fail to reach a deal to stave off across-the-board cuts set to take effect this friday. steve centanni with the latest. >> there are wide ranging predictions of what could happen including fight delays and teacher playoffs. the secretary of transportation said he would be forced to cut air traffic controllers, delaying flights across the country and education secretary arnie don duncan predicts the nation's school children would is suffer. >> we don't have any ability with dumb cuts like this to figure out what the right thing to do. it means a lot more children will not get the kinds services and opportunities they need and as many as 40,000 teachers can lose their jobs. >> the president and congress have not sat down for any last minute negotiations and each side says the other is playing politics with the issue. the pentagon would take a major

hit from the budget cuts and senator john mccain says we should listen to the warnings of the generals. >> if we don't believe our military leaders then who in the world do we believe? and i think that what we are doing now to the men and women who are are serving is unconscionable because they deserve a predictable life in the military. >> and the nation's governors both democrat and republican expect a big impact on their states. >> all of the governors have a real concern about what the impact is going to be on the respective states in terms of the potential of the cuts if they do nothing but also in terms of what some of the alternatives might be. >> we feel like we are starting to come out of it and things are getting a little better and unfortunately the sequester could put us right back where we were. >> sequester takes effect march 1 unless congress takes action to stop it. shannon? >> shannon: thank you very much. joining to us talk about the possible impact of

sequestration, congressman peter king. thank you very much for joining us today. >> shannon, thank you. >> shannon: there are a lot of ways in which this could impact us when we are talking about national security i think of the borders, of course of defense. what are your greatest concerns if this happens on friday? >> actually there is a number of concerns i would have as far as homeland security but i'm speaking for my isself since i'm the former chairman. i very strongly believe at a time when we are struggling with controlling the borders, cutting back on border patrol, cutting back on immigration and customs enforcement it is just a terrible step to take. in addition to that the coast guard which is an eis sentencing part of homeland security. the secret service an a eis essential part of homeland security. and in new york we have a thousand police officers working on counter terrorism every day. as it is we don't get reimbursed enough.

secretary napolitano has done a good job in trying to make most of the money available and making the best use of it. having said that we still don't get enough. now, to be having cuts in any way would have a serious security impact on places like, new york, and other major terrorist targets across the country. >> shannon: what are your hopes as a player in this equation that lawmakers will get anything done on the hill in time? it seems that we have in many cases governing crisis to crisis to crisis. but this one is coming down to the wire. do you think there is any chance sequester is averted? >> i'm not trying to pass the buck here but the president of the united states has shown a terrible lack of leadership here. not only did this idea originate from him in the first place. he should have been spending every waking moment instead of playing golf with tiger woods we should have a summit where are everyone comes together and neither side can take its position in cement. everyone has to move. the president as commander in chief as the leader has to come

forward and not just play the chief political card of talking about corporate gimmicks and tax loopholes and all that stuff, that is great for a campaign. he won the election. right now we are into governing and if he is not serious i think we are going to go into sequestration which is going to be a disaster. if the president does move we as republicans have an obligation to move as well and put items on the table. so far the president looks like he is incapable of doing the leadership. that troubles me because as senator mix can mccain says wih national security and defense there is a real threat. the homeland security has been cut dramatically in the last ral years as it is. i'm saying the across-the-board cuts make no sense wha what so. no matter how you make cuts in

places like homeland security they will be damaging. >> shannon: the president says you are not willing to compromise. >> i wish the president would come forward and be willing to sit down as john mccain said, have the summit and get the s together both parties and sit down. no two parties were farther apart than ronald reagan and tip o'neill but at key moments whether they liked each other or not they were able to come together and form a deal. both made compromises and came toward the middle. not because they wanted to because they had to to govern. we can't be looked in some ide logical straight jacket. the president as the leader of the country has to come forward. i'm not saying you you go first but it makes no sense for the house republicans or senate republican ares to coming out with ideas which the president will just sit back and knock down. get into a room and lock the

doors and keep the media people out and just try to hammer out a deal and dom with it and not be is surrendering to the bases of both parties. >> shannon: i think folks across the political spectrum wish you all the best in getting to the final solution. we will be standing by to see if you get it done before friday. congressman peter king, thank you, sir. >> shannon, thank you as always. appreciate it. >> shannon: we haven't heard from mitt romney since the election. that is all about to change because he has agreed to appear on "fox news sunday" with chris wallace. both the romneys next week. chris is going to ask them everything from the president's aagain da to how they have dealt with defeat. that is next sunday omer only s sunday." >> the daytona 500 set to start in just minutes. there were worries the race might by empacted by a huge crash yesterday that injured more than 30 people. crews worked last night to repair a sec is objection of the stands.

tires and debris went flying into the stands. several people are still hospitalized in stable condition. here is what the fans had to say. >> i didn't realize he had got hurt as bad until i looked down and seen him laying over and his leg was bleeding pretty bad and so we all tried to help him as much as we could. >> i grabbed my belt and wrapped tourniquette around his leg. he is in there and doing fine and the percent thing he said is he didn't want to miss that race. >> shannon: racing fans are loyal. nascar officials say they will move any fans who do not feel comfortable sitting so close to the track today. you can watch the race on commercials, of course, right over on your local fox steaks right now. palestinians calling for an international investigation after a 30-year-old palestinian man died in israeli custody. the death triggered new clashes between israel and palestinians

and as tensions mount one politician is warning of a possible interfada. conor powell is live with more. >> violent clashes between palestinians and israeli security on the rise in the last few weeks and israeli are forces and officials are warning there could be a second in that fada. during the first uprising thousands of people died. in recent incidents have stoked palestinian unrest including the building and expansion of israeli settlements on the west bank on land that palestinians want for their future state. the israeli settlement policy has been denounced by the obama administration. palestinians complain there are hundreds of palestinians in israeli jails being held without charge or trial and one died this week some 3,000 detainees reportedly took part in a hunger strike today to protest h his death. israel is do he commanding that the palestinian authority curb the violence. they haven't shown any

indication they willing to call for calm. with the violence increasing and president obama's upcoming trip to israel and palestine there are are concerns that the growing violence will spiral out of control. >> shannon: indeed, a worry for everyone involved. conor, thank you. john kerry is hitting the road for the first time as secretary of state. he left, washington, on a mean in nation ten day trip. he will meet with traditional european allies such as britain, france and germany and make stops in the middle east. on the agenda, syria's civil war, iran's nuclear program and conflicts in mali and afghanistan. is supporters of an american pastor jailed in iran are are hoping that kerry will take up the case. more than 80 members of congress septembe sent kerry ar asking h him to secure his release. he was sentenced to 8 years in a notorious iranian prison. he describes being physically

and psychological tortured because of his christian faith. jordan seculow. and joining us by phone the pastor's wife. thank you very much for your time today. >> thanks, shannon. >> thank you for having me. >> shannon: i want to it start with you. tell us about the letter and doing and your dock and your family and children as well. >> it was hard receiving this letter realizing how dire and urgent his situation is. the iranian government would like to silence him and have tried by saying he would be released, trying to silence the media. it is really important that we continue voicing our concern over his health and he speaks about death threats in the letter and how dire his situation is and how it is very important that we continue to speak out and spread the word to get him out of there. eight years is really a death

sentence. we don't know how long he is going to survive in that prison. >> shannon: i want to read a little bit of the letter that you all have shared with us. in someone is section pastor says various bullying groups, the psychological war fare, a year of not seeing my family, physical violence actions committed to insult me. being confronted with extremists in the prison who create another prison in prison walls and the death threats. jordan, a tough dire situation. what more could u.s. authorities be doing and do you have confidence that new secretary of state kerry will take up the fight? >> there has been a change, shannon, that is the good news. marco rubio led a charge the day senator kerry was confirmed asking him directly to respond in writing about the pastor and did he. we are asking that he do more. senator rubio's office is working with the secretary of state's office. out of the 84 members of congress who signed the letter 19 are democrats including out

of the 12 u.s. senators six are democrats. ranges the is spectrum from the far left to the the far right and everyone in between. we are also at the u.n. human rights council. we are in ngo so we have standing there if you will to present his case before the 47 member states. that started this week. there is two opportunities march 5 and march 11 to take this internationally as well. what was interesting and so troubling in the letter was for the first time the pastor talking about the asking him to deny his faith. basically you will get out if you just become a muslim again. different thing in the past in any of the cases iran is making no mistakes about this is about. his christianity and dates back to 2000 and 2001. they said we will stop beating you and torturing you and you will be able to walk again if you will deny your faith. he says of course, he won't do that. >> shannon: he has u.s. citizenship.

an american pastor we are talking about. >> that's right. >> shannon: i want to read another part of the letter. as i was reading it i'm sure for you as his wife it must be so difficult because it takes your breath away. he also writes what will come out of me during these intense times but again this is another golden opportunity for me to shine the light of christ in this lark world and to let god use me. are you encouraged that he is still is able to view some positive results of what he is going through at this point? >> yes. when i first read the letter i was in tears knowing what he is going through and how weak he is but when i read that part i smiled knowing his character. he is very strong in his faith and he wouldn't back down on what he believes and what he believes to be right. he uses every opportunity to show his faith how real it is. he talks about in the letter that they try to show how empty

his faith is and it is not real and it is not the right way but he has amazing strength and grace to be able to show love and even i believe there is a part in the letter that he speaks about hugging a guard who attacks him because he is worshiping, he is praying and so it made me smile because i'm proud of his strength and who he is and what he stands up for. it is -- iran is the one who is teaing the illegal -- taking the illegal acts and arresting him because of his christian faith which is according to their own laws illegal and they promised him freedom if he just denies his faith, denies christ. >> shannon: doesn't sound like that is going to happen. what can the average person do to help? >> we have a website. there are about 220,000 people signed on to that. you don't is to be a christian.

just about basic freedoms for americans who was there and wants to return to his lawyer. it has been almost a year. >> shannon: repeat the website and we will. >> save saeed.org. >> thank you both very much for your time. >> thank you. we appreciate it. >> shannon: the former italian prime minister cast his vote earlier today in milan. one of many italians who began voting today. it will finish up tomorrow to determine who will lead the country. candidates include not only berlesconi. voters are angry about the current economic crisis making the outcome difficult to predict. up next, the federal agency entrusted with caring for our military veterans comes under fire. why some vets say they are making it home from a war zone only to get lost in the system that should be helping them. hackers hit microsoft, gaining access to some

employees computers. how the latest hackl attack humbled the software giant, coming up. the boys used double miles from their capital one venture card

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>> shannon: in the wake of december's horrific school shooting generosity from around the world has been showered on the people of newtown connecticut. thousands of gifts sent to the town. so many that officials holding a a community giveaway to distribute them today. students at sandy hook elementary will get first choice before the event opens up to all town residents. more than a million veterans have claims stuck in the system that is supposed to be helping them. despite a pledge to fix things back in 2009 many say things have only gotten worse. an. >> depth investigation has uncovered disturbing information. newark joinmashmark joins us l. you have an extensive multipart

series to look at what is going on in the veteran's administration. what did you find? >> in 2009 they said they would get rid of the blog. any disaability claim that has been there for over 125 days. since he made that pledge things have gotten dramatically worse. four years ago it took 161 days to process a claim and now you 273 days. the other thing is there are any number of ways that v.a. can sort of cook the books. they are so driven by the notion of move the cases quickly and keep the numbers and staffs up that they make a lot of mistakes. fixing miss trailblazer mistaka priority. if you make a mess take in the early phase of a veteran's claim you are eis sentencingly dooming them to years in the appeals process. even best case scenario it takes about nine months just to get an initial decision. if that decision is wrong, which in many cases it is, you are looking at between four and five years to get that resolved

on appeal. and that is not unusual. that is actually very common. those are the averages. >> shannon: not getting treatment or benefits during the time while you are waiting for this to take years to resolve. why is there such a backlog? is the v.a. understaffed? underfunded? >> the last year they prosed 1.3 million claims and have 3.6 million new ones coming in. a great number of the cases probably at least the 30%, 20% something in that range, at a minimum, are cases where they have made mistakes. so those get resolved. they keep churning through the system. the veteran is stuck in the system as they go up and down the appeals ladder. veterans groups that i talked to call it the hamster wheel where you can't really get out of the is system. once that mistake is made at the front end for whatever

reason there is just no easy out. and it is just very difficult to correct. a lot of these veterans i talked to one veteran named mike montgomery, a vietnam vet who was exposed to agent orange and he has a condition if you go on the v.a. website it specifically describes it. he has been waiting since june to get an initial response. they just contacted him and said we lost your paper work and you you have to refile. >> shannon: these are our veterans. some of them older veterans it was a draft but these are folks who have served our country. what is the response from the v.a. to your findings? >> v.a. doesn't really talk to me very often. they have a stone wall policy. they don't talk to congress very much either. they said we are doing the best we can and all of these brand new initiatives that are going to fix the problem. the difficulty with that is when you talk to people in

congress who have been there for a number of years say look this is the same old tired things we tried before and it hasn't worked up until now. the v.a. budget has gone up over 50% if the last four years. they have been adding bodies and people and spending a lot of money on training. but the problem from what i hear both from members of congress and people in the veteran's community is you you you need accountability. you need people to be held accountable for their mistakes and if you have an office that is not serving veterans the people running that office need to know that they could lose their jobs if they don't improve things and start serving the veterans as they are supposed to be doing. >> shannon: folks can see the entire multiseries of pieces that you did at washingtonexaminer .com. interesting and a lot of food for thought. hopefully some more answers forthcoming because of what you uncovered. mark, thanks. >> thank you. >> shannon: if you are trying to decide which car to buy you take a test drive.

would you think twice about doing that if you actually had to pay to table the car out for a spin. in we will tell you where they are making you do just that. new regulations may have you paying more for a car and more at the pump. we will talk about that in regulation nation, after the break. where do you hear that ? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. did you know not all fiber is the same? citrucel is different- it's the only fiber for regularity that won't cause excess gas. it's gentle and clinically proven to help restore and maintain regularity. look for citrucel today.

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>> shannon: a big blizzard could put a deep freeze on a huge part of the nation's mid section as the workweek gets underway. mara liassomaria molina joins m the weather center. >> a new winter storm taking shape across the center of the country. portions of new england starting to deal with areas of heavier snow. southern area of maine and parts of new hampshire and eastern, massachusetts. talking about a foot of snow here across interior sections of new england. it will be a rough sunday afternoon and also sunday night as we head into later on today.

otherwise we already have blizzard warnings in effect across the center of the country. winter storm warnings in effect and winter storm watches out here. center of the country. the same area that a couple of days ago had to deal with regard snowfall and now talking about a foot of snow over the same areas. looking at more winter weather here on the southern side of the storm system severe weather later on today the possibility across north central, texas. heads up abilene you you could be looking at thunderstorms that could produce more severe weather. a more widespread threat along portions of the i-10 corridor, new orleans you are included. southern georgia. a widespread area across portions of the south and talking not just severe weather like tornado, damaging wind gusts and large hail, also flooding a concern across portions of the southeast because the storms will be dumping a lot of heavy rain in a short amount of time.

georgia, alabama, mississippi looking at a flooding concern. a lot of snow, over a foot possible out here. some models talking about 18-inches of snow. >> shannon: wow. thank you, maria. >> thanks. >> shannon: federal regulations impact every part of our lives including the price at the pump. in just the past month the average price for a gallon of regular gas is up more than 40 cents. the national average is now 3.78 a gallon. joining us the president of the american fuel and petrochemical manufacturers. a mouthful there. charlie, thanks for coming in. >> thanks for having me. great to be here. >> talking federal regulation. what impact does federal regulation have on gas when we go to fill up. >> there is always a regulation. what is happening at the refinery, safety which is paramount. making sure we do things safely

and environmentally correctly which is also paramount. but other things that absolutely make no sense and that help bring the north american energy independence, help get the country into a manufacturing renaissance like we have never seen in this country before and those are the regulations and impediments to holding up the energy in independence. >> shannon: are you saying there are nose that maybe aren't so legitimate or could be rolled back to make domestic energy production more efficient. >> a stonewall right now is the president could pick up the phone and call prime minister harper from canada and say let's build something together i.e. the keystone pipeline. talked about gas reason prices. nothing president can do today or tomorrow is going to affect the price today or tomorrow. long-term we could make

ourselves north american energy independent and show the rest of the world we are dead serious about our energy independence and national security, jobs, the economy and that message will resonate throughout the globe. other things that are going on right now or forgive me in the pipeline that we need to address. one is the renewable fuel standards. we are continually forced to put more and more and more ethanol into gasoline and we are taking food off of the table. putting it in our gas tanks. i think people around the country are starting to realize what a fall lacy that the renewable standard is. the second thing is and we have now the new cafe standards coming out. the fuel economy standards coming out 2017 through '24, '25. sounds great, 54.5 miles per gallon in all of the automobiles. we believe efficiency is good. what does that really mean? do you think when you walk in a car dealer in a few years and

you are able to buy perhapses a $20,000 to $22,000 vehicle for about $26,000 or are $27,000. you are going be shocked when you find out in that car are it going to be a lot smaller. and you are going to be forced to use premium gasoline which today is selling for are 30, 35, 40 cents higher than regular. yowhen you look at the cost benefit analysis you are not going to get 54.5 miles per gallon because the only way the corporate fleet will get that is if the cars that the manufacturers keep pushing out i.e. the electric vehicles are suddenly embraced by the american driving public. and that is not happening. >> shannon: we have seen that already with hybrids and all kinds of other things that are on the market and not always as promised but you give austan lot of thought for questions that we should all be asking about the the policies. >> absolutely. >> shannon: thank you so much. >> thanks for having me, shannon. >> shannon: if you are thinking

about a new car and taking it out for a spin it could actually cost you to test drive it. in california some dealerships started charging for test drives because of rising gas prices. others are asking prospective buyers to return the car with the same amount of gas as when they left. dealerships say they are trying to separate the joyriders from serious buyers. >> the twilight finale winning almost all of the big categories but may not have wanted to. the razzie winners, next. [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents are awesome. but when i cook up some beef, ketchup, relish and cheese, cover it with crescent dough and pow! cheeseburger crescent casserole. double awesome. pillsbury crescents. let the making begin.

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>> shannon: tonight, of course, is the biggest night in hollywood. it is oscar night when the academy of position picture arts and sciences honors what its members consider to be the best movies of the year but are they the best or are some films being totally overlooked because of politics? adam is with the movie picture

in is student. he joins us live from orlando with his awards. adam, great to see you. tell us about what you you think maybe has been overlooked and what scores well with you when it comes to movies that have a message of freedom and liberty? >> sure. what we did with the moving picture institute we decided to celebrate films that did celebrate freedom and liberty. among those would include our film you and me. we gave it an award. best one liner with a sudanese diplomat the because the filmmaker sits down with an ambassador at sudan at the u.n. and asks him what is causing the death and destruction and the ambassador says it has been caused by global warming. the filmmaker says perhaps solutions would be t car. we honored that and a number of other films that have great

freedom message in them. but also we mock films that have a disservice to liberty. >> shannon: a lot of people do not think hollywood gets it right and that there is a different mentality in hollywood maybe than in other large sections of the country. where do you think some got it wrong? >> one of the most obvious examples was in the matt damon film promiseland. matt damon put out a film called promiseland about fracking and the dangers of america exploring our energy resources. the film is partially refunded by the government abudhabi. so you you have oil money funding the film. the hypocrisy is unbelievable. >> shannon: a couple you saw as positive.

atlas shrugged. not possible to do it justice in one. now, into part two it. isn't there is part three coming as well? >> there is a part three coming and i thought part two was excellent. it was really a great improvement from the first one and we gave it the award for best adaptation of an impossible to adapt book. one of the most famous most influencial novels of all time. tremendously difficult to bring it to the screen and especially in the sequel they did a great job. duncan scott was involved in the screen play and we think they did a great job translating that message of liberty to the screen. >> shannon: and one last one i want to make sure that we get in honor flight because here in the d.c. region a lot of times if you are lucky enough you will be at the airport when one of these honor flights is coming in and man it puts everything in perspective. >> two of our filmmakers clay broga and dan hayes created a film about the honor flight charity the which brings world

war ii veterans to d.c. to see the memorials built in their honor and they remered it -- premiered it at a baseball stadium last summer at miller park in milwaukee and sold 28,442 tickets for a film screening breaking the guinness world record of largest film screening of any type of all time. it was unbelievable. >> shannon: reminds us of those who really truly should be the superstars and heros that we are looking up to. adam, thank you so much. very interesting and enjoy the oscars tonight if you can. >> absolutely. thank you you for having us and for more information go to moving picture institute.org. >> shannon: thank you, sir. never fear, the oscar nominees won't be going home empty handed. the swag bag is valued atget this more than $45,000! the most expensive gift in the bag is a $12,000 trip to australia. also trips to mexico and hawaii and the least expensive gift in

the bag perhaps the most unexpected. a package of windex cleaning wipes worth $3.99. i'm not sure how that relates to the movies but it is helpful. the razzies are handing out o the prizes for what they deem the worse. they named the winners or should we say losers. they really sank their teeth into the way to saga. worst picture and worst director and actress and supporting actor. adam sandler are picked up a worst actor for that's my boy and rihanna got her named worst is you porting actress. i always love the actresses and actresses who show up. adam sandler. haley barry did it in the past. coming up after the break we will talk with an expert to get you some real estate answers. plus, he i supposed to help pee

after a winter storm. snowplow driver is caught behaving badly. we'll take a closer look, after the break. [ phil ] when you have joint pain and stiffness... accomplishing even little things can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. when i was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, my rheumatologist prescribed enbrel for my pain and stiffness, and to help stop joint damage. [ male announcer ] enbrel may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doct if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or palens. nce enbrel helped relieve my joint pain, it's the little things that mean the most.

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>> shannon: microsoft joins the

list of prominent technology companies dealing with cyber attack. one of the most clicked stories on fox news .com. peter doocy is here with details. >> the company isn't giving out a lot of information but it did confirm in a blog posting that it had been hacked. microsoft also said it doesn't believe any customer data was stolen in this attack. a bar tender in ohio says she was fired for reporting a drunk driver. the woman says she called the cops to warn them that one of her customers was getting behind the wheel after having too many. police pulled the guy over and say he was over twice the legal limit. the woman says her boss told her she did the right thing but fired her because he said she was bad for business. and finally, a snowplow driver who calls himself dog was acting like one. he recorded video of himself see it here burying a parked cars with his plow during a blizzard earlier this month. the driver defended his actions on a local radio show saying he

was just doing his job by widening the roadways. >> shannon: i'm confused by people taping behavior that may be less than okay with other people. >> my thought there is it is hard enough. >> ist to get a little bit of ice off the wind shield. what are you supposed to do if a snowplow has -- you can't even get to the scraper. can't even open your door. >> shannon: he needs to come back and help out. >> shame on you, dog. >> shannon: thank you. should you buy, sell or try to refinance in the current housing market it is sometimes difficult to tell. joining us with tips and answers to some of your questions is real estate expert sherri. thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> the first question from j. says my wife wants to downsize our hours. we still owe $130,000 and already have a 5% rate. should we refinance or is sell

and downsize? any advice? >> absolutely. everyone's question in terms of refinancing is situation specific. this this case we can apply some typical rules of thumb for refinance. the pros are you get a lower interest rate and can decrease in this market because the rates are so low the amortization period. the con which is a big con in the situation is going to be the cost. it is going to cost you -- going to take about three years to recover the costs and with a 5% rate it is a decent rate unless you have got really gooded credit you may not beat the rate by too much. here is the big thing. if t.j. is looking to downsize, remember that your mortgage is only one part of the that home's cost equation and it is the one part that is going to go away. the other part the real estate taxes and insurance and utilities and maintenance are not ever going to go' way. if you are looking to down size specifically i don't think rehe financing is the answer. you need to be thinking about when you can get the most money for the house you are looking to sell and where you will do the best in terms of where you

want to buy again or rent and what you will do with the savings in between. in other words, the profit you may make from selling and also the savings and monthly expenses. essentially why refinance a house that is too big or in a location that you don't really have to be in any more. basically aah you are paying for something that you are not using. you are better off moving and downsizing for real. >> shannon: the next question from bill. he says i want to know if reverse mortgages are a deal or do they just create fees to make servicing agents richer? >> very per is septemberive question. and there are two big issues with reverse mortgages. the first is the up front cost. way more expensive than typical loan. and the second is the way you have to take the product and it really does tie your hands in a lot of ways. you just don't know what the future is going to hold if you are an older american. you may need to move into assisted living, may pass away. in all of the instances your hands are tied and triggers you having to repay the loan. i prefer doing a typical

mortgage financing if an older person needs a loan and cancy ford the payments. if you have to do a reverse mortgage wait until as long as you possibly can to do it. because of the problems fha is having now they will be cutting back on some of the different types of programs. if somebody is thinking about a reverse mortgage get that done before april when some of those programs will go away. >> shannon: thank you so much. >> sure. >> shannon: tonight may be a big deal for hollywood's biggest stars but oscar night is a huge event for some small businesses. one in particular caught our attention. couture communications is a small california business run by mark freedland. designing the iconic oscar envelopes that contain the winner's names for the past three years and this year produced the oscar invites for the first time. the company involvement is the product of a lot of determination and dreaming. good for you. computers had no problem

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